Cartography and the Vatican

I love maps. Adore them. I grew up with those crazy folding road maps and now I refuse to download certain map apps for my smartphone because I am afraid I will disappear into such a rabbit hole that my wife and children will give up on me. As Dirty Harry once said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

This does not keep me from visiting Frank Jacobs’ “Strange Maps” blog for an occasional scratch of my cartographic itch. I thought this week’s posting on Vatican City might interest our readers. There is a nice discussion of the political and historical tensions over  the property itself and the possibility of two patches of the terrain that continue to be of some discussion as to legal authority. Perhaps I’m just a Baptist bumpkin, but these technicalities were quite fascinating to me. The site is well-worth a click when you have a moment.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Of Roots and Adventures

Peter J. Leithart

I have lived in Ohio, Michigan, Georgia (twice), Pennsylvania, Alabama (also twice), England, and Idaho. I left…

Our Most Popular Articles of 2025

The Editors

It’s been a big year for First Things. Our website was completely redesigned, and stories like the…

Our Year in Film & Television—2025

Various

First Things editors and writers share the most memorable films and TV shows they watched this year.…